Magical Medicine
by Beanacre0
Summary: Set mid season 2, during the episode 'Need to Know'. Gregory House is having an affair with Stacy Warner, but what happens when an old flame turns up at the hospital and he has to choose between Stacy and his ex. Who will he choose? Will the choice be taken out of his hands when Wilson takes an interest in his ex? GHxHG
1. Chapter 1 Affair

Welcome to my story :) I had a hard job working out when to start this story, but this place gave me a good idea of what to do with the story's plot. Chapter One primarily follows the plot of S02E11 - Need to Know.

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**Chapter One**

**Affair**

House grumpily hung up the phone and sighed. "Gotta go back to work."

Stacy sat up and frowned. "Right now?"

House rolled over and looked at her. A smile crossed his face as his eyes took in the delicious sight in front of him. Stacy was propped up on one arm with the sheet strategically hugging her curves.

"The patient's stable. Could maybe wait a half hour."

Stacy grinned, reached up and pulled House to her, kissing him. What happened next put House in such a good mood that he was singing as he entered the hospital. Nurses and doctors were shooting strange looks his way at his out of character behaviour. He ignored them and carried on up to his office.

Cameron, Chase and Foreman were gathered in the conference room. They were still waiting for House to arrive and help them work out what was wrong with the patient. His previous diagnosis had been wrong and she had returned to the hospital.

"He should have been her twenty minutes ago." Cameron huffed.

Chase shrugged. "Doubt if he makes it at all. I saw him leave with Stacy."

Cameron felt a small jab of jealousy. Her crush on House had diminished a little but she for the most part her feelings remained unchanged.

"He's probably just walking her to her car." She said awkwardly.

Chase snorted. "Oh yeah. That sounds like House."

Cameron shot him a look. "He's not an idiot. He's not going to hook up with a married woman."

Foreman took a drink of his coffee. "I hope he is getting some. Maybe he'll mellow out."

Cameron so wanted to argue this fact. She was about to when a cheery singing interrupted her. She and the other two watched as House entered his office, hung up his coat and entered the room.

"What took you so long?" She asked abruptly. "It's midnight."

House ignored her tone. "Traffic. Cinco de mayo." His attention shifted to Foreman. "You owe me a hundred bucks."

Foreman turned to Cameron, incredulous. "You didn't take the test?"

House moved to the whiteboard. "Fear trumps anal every time."

Cameron felt uncomfortable with the attention on her and the disbelieving looks she was getting from her two colleagues.

"It's not a big deal. I had the viral load and antibody tests. It's ninety nine point nine per cent that I don't have HIV."

House looked at her. "You have the test and its negative, you gain a tenth of a point. But if it's positive you lose…nearly one hundred, right?"

Cameron switched topics rapidly. "No arrhythmia. So Ritalin isn't the big problem. Someone else is going on."

House felt annoyance niggle at him. He hated when someone else changed the subject on him.

"Fine. Let's play doctors." He said.

Chase relayed the details of his actions. "I removed the clot which caused the stroke. Problem is, we don't know where it came from."

Cameron joined in. "Did ultrasounds of her heart, arms and legs. All clear."

Foreman had remained silent but decided that now he would speak up. "Could be a protein C deficiency."

Cameron shook her head. "Wouldn't explain the movement disorder."

House, annoyed that he had been made to leave Stacy, gave the matter some serious thought and stared at the board.

"Nothing explains everything." He mused. "What if it's a crime syndicate? Let's say Ritalin and the fertility meds plotted a caper. Ritalin takes care of the psychosis, the flailing-"

Foreman interrupted. "I still don't think Ritalin-"

House knew what he was about to say and interrupted him. "Fertility meds are competitive by nature. They gotta do something bigger. Something really unexpected."

They all caught onto what he was saying and Cameron was first to comment.

"Fertility treatments have been known to cause Endometrial cancer."

Chase picked up on her point. "Which could cause clots. Which could have caused her to stroke."

House nodded. "So ultrasound her uterus this time. See if there's something growing in there that doesn't look adorable in a onesie."

The three nodded and got up from their seats, heading to the door to go and do what he had instructed them to do.

"Cameron."

Cameron turned to face House.

"I love you."

Her jaw dropped. She couldn't believe she was hearing this from her usually insensitive and harsh boss. She should have known it was a trick because a second later House was inserting a swab into her mouth.

"Get your test results tomorrow." He instructed.

Cameron left the room with conflicting emotions swirling around inside her. House watched them go. It would be a while before they returned with anything useful, so there was no point waiting around when he had a beautiful woman at home. Hurrying as fast as he could to his bike, House limped through the hospital.

It didn't take him long to race through the near deserted streets and get home. When he got inside, he spotted the woman he had been thinking of stood in the kitchen. She was wearing one of his shirts and was currently making a cup of tea. She was waiting for the kettle to boil and had a small smile on her face.

House crossed to her, discarding his cane on the sofa as he passed, and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Miss me?" He whispered.

Stacy hummed. "I did."

"I like coming home to you. It's like old times." House mused.

Stacy rubbed her arm with her hand. "Only we're both older and you're greyer."

"I don't know whether I should be offended or not."

Stacy chuckled. "I like it. It makes you look…sexier."

House brushed his cheek along her shoulders. "I haven't aged as well as you have."

"I think you've aged well."

"You just want to get into my pants." House joked.

"Shut up and kiss me." Stacy smirked.

An hour later, House was propped up on one arm as he watched Stacy redress. "Do you really have to go?"

"I need to get home. Two hours is the most I get away with. I'm not a doctor after all." Stacy replied, sliding on her tights.

House felt a sneer cross his fact at the thought of Mark, the husband that Stacy would be returning to.

Reluctantly, he watched as Stacy fixed her hair and make-up and left the room, planting a small kiss on his lips as she passed. He heard the front door shut and put his head on his pillow with a sigh.

The nights when she left him were the worst. In those dark times he wished he had never started the whole affair in the first place.

But she had been one of the only women to see the whole him. There had only been two privileged enough for that. Three if you counted Wilson.

As he slept, he dreamt of wonderful days curled up in a large bed and carefree, happier days. Of a time when he spent most of his time wrapped up in long, curly hair and silky, smooth skin. He dreamt of soft kissable lips and slender, elegant fingers running up and down his back.

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Please Read and Review. I hope you enjoyed this chapter :) I have a vague idea of what is going to happen next chapter. The majority will most likely follow the episode.


	2. Chapter 2 Ultimatum

Wow, I'm surprised at the support so far for this. Thank you to those who reviewed and thanks to those reading. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I shall try and update as quick as I can, but I'm not entirely sure where this is going. I have a vague idea.

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**Chapter Two**

**Ultimatum **

House stood on the roof of the hospital, staring out at the beautiful purple, pink and yellow sky. He liked sunset. It meant that the dark was coming, and in the dark all secrets were hidden. It hid his dallies with prostitutes and it was currently hiding his affair with Stacy. Speaking of Stacy…

The door to the roof opened and said woman walked onto the roof. House turned and smiled at her.

"The prescription for my heart condition? A little on the cheesy side." Stacy said, holding up the paper.

"I was trying for romantic." House replied.

Stacy felt affection run through her and she stepped into his arms with a loving smile on her face that mirrored his own. She hadn't seen that smile in a long time and she had missed it. The smile lit up his deep blue eyes and made him look younger.

"Still fits." House's voice vibrated in his chest and against Stacy's ear.

"Mmm."

When she was holding him and he wasn't making one of his cutting remarks, she almost wondered why she had left him. Sure House was curt and a little on the rude side, but he also was capable of affection that would leave her legs weak.

"Did you tell Mark?"

Just like that, he had ruined the moment. Stacy felt a small bite of resentment at the thought of her wheelchair bound husband. Her smile faded.

"I told him I had to work late." The unspoken 'again' hung in the air.

House felt a stab of jealously. He wasn't Wilson, he didn't like affairs. He hated the secrecy that came with the affair. He hated the fact that Stacy returned to her crippled husband, and, most of all, he hated sharing. She had been his first.

House's face dropped and he pulled away from her. "You going to tell him?"

Stacy repeated his question and gave a small chuckle, looking everywhere but House. She didn't want to, and couldn't really, look him in the eye.

"Still working on that phrasing." She admitted. "How about 'know all that stuff you were worried about when we first came here, honey? You were right'."

House hated hearing the mocking tone come out of Stacy's mouth. "Pithy."

Stacy looked at him. Sometimes she really hated him. She hated his callous manner and snarky comments.

"Everything's easy when you don't care if you hurt anyone." She said.

"You already did the hurting part. He just doesn't know it yet." House pointed out.

Stacy sighed. "If I never tell him, it'll never hurt."

She noticed how House's brow furrowed, emphasising the deep lines in his forehead. At his most grave, he looked ages older than he was.

"I want not to love Mark." Stacy admitted. "I want to hate you. I want all of this to be simple, but it's not."

House nodded and looked around. He had no choice, he had to tell her to make a decision for both of their sakes.

"You can either have a life with me, or you can have a life with him." He told her. "It can't be both. It's not easy, but it is simple."

Stacy nodded and watched as House brushed past her. She felt a tear roll down her cheek and she took a deep breath to calm herself.

"I'll give you time to think about it. For now, go home to your husband." House said, his back still turned to her.

With that, he pulled open the door and began the slow, for him anyway, and painful journey back down the stairs to the lift. He was quiet the whole time with a serious expression. He was lost to his thoughts about his whole situation with Stacy and Mark.

Stacy had wormed her way back into his heart, when she had been the reason he had shut it off in the first place. After she had made the decision about his leg, he had felt betrayed and hurt and he had vowed he would never let anyone that close to him again, apart from Wilson. He could always count on Wilson.

He didn't even acknowledge Wilson and Cameron respectively as he walked past them. Their greetings had died on their lips and they watched as the grumpy and stoic House, who was even more so that day, left the hospital. He rode his bike home, relishing in the way the streets blurred past him. When he was moving this quickly, it was like no one could see him and his pain. No one else mattered because they couldn't clearly see him and he couldn't see them.

That night, he lay in bed staring at the ceiling. The same frustrating thoughts chased each other around his brain. He loved Stacy, and Stacy loved him. But Stacy also loved Mark, who loved her and hated him. He hated Mark, but loved Stacy. It was all one endless circle and it was giving him a headache.

Blindly he reached for the Vicodin and dry swallowed a couple. The pain relief and the tiny high he got from them rushed through his veins and a sleepy smile passed over his face. He shut his eyes again and this time he drifted off into sleep.

Stacy lay beside Mark, completely unaware that, in his own home, House was doing the same. Mark's breathing was a soundtrack she was used to, but she found herself missing another's. House's. Mark was led facing away from her, while House had always led so he was tucked up as close to her as he could get, arm or a hand always resting on her body. It was almost as though he wanted to reassure himself she was there.

Since the whole thing with the illness and the paralysis, Mark rarely touched her anymore. She couldn't be blamed for seeking out comfort in a former lover, right? Especially when House was right there and he still loved her. The passion between her and House was still burning brightly, and she felt the electricity whenever she was near him. His quick wit and sharp tongue kept her on her toes and she found it exciting.

Mark, on the other hand, was a safe bet. He was kind, caring and calm. He was sure and cared about his job, and he loved her. The only problem was that recently the passion was dying. She felt as though he blamed her for being in a wheelchair. He was starting to push her away, as House did when his leg died. Of course, House had always been a little harsh so it wasn't too much of a change. In Mark, however, the change was very noticeable. It wasn't the Mark she knew and she was finding herself growing increasingly annoyed and frustrated with his behaviour. When she put it like that, the choice seemed like an obvious one. But she needed some advice from an objective third party.

The next day, Stacy walked into Cuddy's office. Cuddy looked up from her work with a slightly stressed and annoyed expression.

"I need some advice." Stacy blurted.

Cuddy sighed. "Whatever it is, can it wait?"

Stacy felt guilty. Cuddy was busy and it wasn't fair to trouble her with such trivial problems, especially when it involved one of her doctors.

She turned to go. "Yeah."

She paused at the door, a thought hitting her. She turned back. "What was Greg like after I left?"

Cuddy raised her eyebrows. "Uh, an egomaniacal narcissistic pain in the ass. Same as before you left."

"Do you think he's capable of having a real relationship?"

Cuddy paused in her work. "What happened in Baltimore?"

Stacy was quick to answer. "Nothing."

"Right." Cuddy's tone was disbelieving.

Stacy sighed. "Maybe something."

Cuddy winced, her eyes closed. "Right."

"Technically, most of the something happened after Baltimore."

Cuddy sighed. "Oh God, Stacy…"

"I don't know what to do." Stacy admitted.

"Are you seriously thinking about leaving Mark?"

"No. I don't know. I can't."

"And you want me to tell you it's okay?" Cuddy deduced.

"It wasn't all bad with Greg. I was with him for a reason." Stacy defended, thinking about House and their relationship.

"You left him for a reason." Cuddy pointed out.

Stacy gave a small, sad smile as she headed to the door. "I could swear I remember him being fun."

Cuddy said nothing, just smiled apologetically, and watched as the brunette lawyer left her office. She wanted nothing to do with this whole mess.

House sat in his office, throwing his ball up in the air, with his back to the door. Jazz music was playing and he was deep in thought.

There was a knock on the door, but he didn't turn round. The door opened and he sighed with annoyance.

"Sorry, come back later. I'm busy."

"I can see that."

House turned round, a surprised look on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello Greg."

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Please Read and Review. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm going to start work on the next chapter, asap :-)


	3. Chapter 3 Reunions and Meetings

I am glad people are enjoying this story. Yes, you guessed it, Hermione is about to be introduced :D

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**Chapter Three**

**Reunions and Meetings**

"I repeat, what are you doing here?" House asked.

"At the moment, talking to you." The woman replied.

House's steady blue eyes took in every inch of the woman in front of him. She was shorter than him and Stacy, but about the same height as Cameron. His gaze started at her sensible black heels and travelled up her tight clad legs, past her knee length pencil skirt and over her neatly pressed blouse, which showed just a hint of cleavage, to her oval face with its slightly upturned nose splattered with freckles, full lips and liquid brown eyes that sparked with intelligence. His eyes lingered on her golden brown, slightly bushy, curls. He had always loved her hair and had been very disappointed when she cut it short.

"You grew your hair out again."

"I decided I didn't like it short." She replied, shrugging. "Neither did you."

"Without your curls you weren't you. You weren't Hermione Granger, my Hermione." House stated. "So what are you doing here?"

"I was in town. I heard you worked here and I wanted to see you. It's been a while." Hermione gave a small smile.

"It has." House agreed. "Why are you in town?"

"Relocating. This is one of the best hospitals in the state, so it's one of the best places for me to work." Hermione took a seat opposite him.

"How did you know I was here?" House questioned, his eyes not leaving hers for a second.

"The hospital administrator. Lisa…"

"Cuddy."

"She saw I went to John Hopkins at the time as you did and asked if I knew you."

"What did you tell her?"

"That you were in my class, and we had been friends. I asked her where your office was so I could say hi, and here I am."

"You look good." House said after a moment.

A pink flush stained her cheeks and Hermione bowed her head a little, looking at House from under her eyelids. "Thank you. You too."

"Liar."

Hermione levelled him with a serious look. "You do look good. I would never lie to you. You know me."

"I also know you don't like to hurt other people's feelings. You're too kind for that." House countered.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Fine, don't believe me. The least you could do is give me a tour of the hospital, since I'm going to be working here."

House nodded. "Alright."

Hermione gave him one of her famous smiles and House felt his stomach jump like it always used to when she turned her smile on him. She watched as he put down his ball and grabbed a cane she hadn't noticed before. She frowned.

"What happened to your leg?" She asked.

"Muscle death. An old girlfriend made a decision for me and it left me like this. Still, I got to keep my leg. I like my leg." House tapped the side of his leg with his cane.

Hermione gave him a sad smile. "I like it too."

House looked up and their eyes met. The air crackled the electricity like it used to. For a moment, it felt like they were both in college again. House broke the eye contact, Stacy suddenly popping into his mind, and offered her his arm. Hermione gave a small smile and slipped her arm into his.

Foreman tapped away at a keyboard as the patient led still waiting for the CT scan to be completed. Cameron walked into the small room to stand by his shoulder. They both watched the screen as the computer tried to connect to the CT. A moment later, the screen loaded and the image was revealed.

"There it is."

"A tumour in her liver." Cameron whispered, leaning over his shoulder.

"It's vascular." Foreman frowned. "We have to tell House."

"I'm not doing it." Cameron immediately said. "I did it last time."

Foreman sighed. "Where's Chase?"

"Clinic I think." Cameron replied.

"When in doubt, pass it off to someone else." Foreman smirked.

Cameron followed him out of the room and down to the lobby where the clinic was. She wanted to see Chase's face when he got the news that it was his turn to reveal the news to House about the tumour.

They found Chase talking to Wilson about a patient he was going to refer to the Oncology department. The two walked over to them, sending respectful and friendly nods at Wilson before focussing on Chase.

"Chase, it's your turn. There was a tumour on the liver." Foreman told him.

"The house wife?" Wilson asked.

"Yeah. It's vascular." Cameron relayed.

Wilson nodded gravely. "House is going to want to know about…"

Foreman and Cameron frowned as Wilson trailed off. He and Chase were staring at something over their shoulders. Confused, the two turned and their eyes widened at the sight that greeted them.

House was walking through the reception with a woman who was smiling and chatting away happily with him. That wasn't the only weird thing; her arm was looped in his and a small smile was on House's face.

"Who's that?" Cameron felt a hint of jealousy stab her. First Stacy, and now this mystery woman. Why not her?

"I don't know." Wilson said slowly.

Halfway across the lobby, House spotted them and led his companion over to his team and friend.

"These lot are my team. Cameron, Foreman and Chase. You'll like Chase, he's British too." House gestured to the trio he commanded.

"I'm Australian." Chase huffed.

"My parents lived in Australia. Beautiful country." The woman let go of House and gave a charming smile. Her soft English accent put them all at ease.

"I'm Doctor Wilson. I don't believe we've met." Wilson stepped forward and offered his hand to the woman.

"Doctor Granger, but please, call me Hermione. Doctor Granger was what both my parents were called." She shook his hand politely.

"Down, boy." House said to Wilson before turning back to Hermione. "Where do you want to go next?"

"I wouldn't mind looking at the Paediatric department. After all, that is where I'll be working." Hermione replied, her attention solely on House.

"As you wish." House nodded and offered his arm again.

Hermione looped her arm in his again and waved at the small group. "Bye. It was nice to meet you."

The group watched, bewildered, as the two walked away.

"She seemed…nice." Cameron said.

"Yeah, what's she doing with House?" Chase frowned.

"Don't look at me." Wilson held his hands up. "I have no idea who she is."

He turned and walked away, leaving the three to decide amongst themselves who was going to tell House about the patient when he had finished showing his guest, and apparent new doctor, around the hospital.

The lift doors slid open in front of House and Hermione and House was surprised to see Stacy standing in front of him. He hadn't counted on running into her while showing Hermione around.

"Greg." Stacy sounded pleasantly surprised. She hadn't registered the woman holding onto House's arm. "Did you actually go to Clinic?"

"Nah. I'm just showing an old friend around. Hermione, this is Stacy. Stacy, this is Hermione." House replied.

Stacy noted the familiar way that Hermione's arm was tucked into House's and a barely noticeable frown crossed her face. It was gone in an instant and instead a smile replaced the frown.

"Hi, nice to meet you. What brings you here?" She inquired.

"Oh, well I'm the new doctor in the Paediatric ward." Hermione smiled. "I've just moved to New Jersey from London."

"That's interesting. I hope you enjoy it here." Stacy gave another smile. "If you excuse me, I have to meet my husband for lunch."

"It was nice to meet another colleague." Hermione gave a small wave as Stacy slipped from the lift.

"Yes, it was nice to meet you too." Stacy sounded distracted.

She shot House a small look of disapproval as she left. House watched her retreating back as the doors slipped closed and she was out of sight.

"She another doctor?" Hermione questioned.

"Lawyer. She comes in very handy." House smirked.

Hermione laughed. "I'm not surprised. You haven't changed a bit."

The two remained in comfortable silence as the lift ascended. The doors pinged as the opened on the floor where the Paediatric ward was situated.

House showed her out, but didn't follow. "Welcome to your new work place. Have fun."

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Please Read and Review. I hope you liked this chapter and I thought I'd let you know that so far, I have eleven chapters planned and have a more concrete idea as to where this is heading :)


	4. Chapter 4 First Day at Work

Hey guys :D Sorry it has taken so long to update. I'm just about to finish my second year at uni and have had two 4,000 word stories to write, which is actually a lot harder than it sounds :/ I'm waiting on feedback atm, so figured it would be a good time to write some more of Magical Medicine. Enjoy :D

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**Chapter Four**

**First Day at Work**

Hermione apperated to an alleyway just outside of the hospital. She had rushed that morning and was still fixing her hair. With a flick of her wand, her hair was secured in a perfect bun. She slipped her wand into a hidden holster on her arm and tugged her white blouse down a little more nervously. Checking that the coast was clear, she strode across the car park and into the building.

The hospital was already in full swing and doctors and nurses rushed around. A feeling of being overwhelmed threatened to overtake her, but she squashed it down inside her and searched for a familiar face. The doctor she had met the day before, Wilson, was chatting to one of the receptionists at the front desk and was handing over a clipboard.

"Doctor Wilson!" Hermione called.

Wilson looked up and was pleasantly surprised to see Hermione walking towards him with a big smile on her face.

"Good morning." He smiled. "Are you looking forward to starting work?"

"I'm nervous." Hermione admitted.

Wilson chuckled. "That's normal. Do you want to be escorted to Cuddy's office?"

"I'd like that. Thank you." Hermione tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Wilson motioned for her to follow him and the two walked as they chatted amicably to the administrator's office. They were just in the middle of a discussion about a recent article they both had read when they reached Cuddy's office.

"Thank you for walking me. I'll talk to you later." Hermione gave sincere smile.

Wilson returned it with one of his own. "I'll talk to you later."

Cuddy was hunched over her desk filling out some forms when there was a knock on her door.

"It's open."

The door opened to reveal the newest member of her team, Hermione Granger. She had come with a glowing recommendation from her previous employer and she had been educated at the prestigious John Hopkins medical school. She had been surprised when Hermione admitted she and House were friends, but figured he had had to have more than a couple of friends in his lifetime. Even House wasn't that isolated.

"Granger." Cuddy nodded with a smile. "Ready to get started?"

"All too eager." Hermione chimed.

Cuddy grabbed some papers and sifted through them. She handed a plastic card and name tag over to her. Hermione looked down at them and smiled happily. It was nice to see her name again on an identification card and badge showing she was a doctor.

"The card is to be worn around your neck. The bar code will get you access to restricted areas." Cuddy instructed. "There's a coat waiting for you on the ward. I hope you have a good day."

Hermione gave a bright smile. "Thank you."

She slipped the card's lanyard around her neck, spun on her heel and left the office. She had a bounce in her step as she walked towards the lift.

"Someone's happy."

Hermione turned and gave a smile as she saw House. "Why wouldn't I be? It's my first day on my new job."

House rolled his eyes. "Always so eager."

Hermione shot him a sly smirk. "I thought that's what you liked about me."

"It is." House shared the smirk as the two entered the lift.

The two were quiet for the ride up to the paediatric ward, the lift getting fuller and fuller with every stop. Finally they reached Hermione's floor. She smiled at House as she stepped out of the lift.

"I'll see you later." She called.

The various nurses and doctors that knew of House's reputation turned to look at him with surprise. As far as they knew, his only friends were Stacy, Wilson and, to some extent, Cuddy. Apart from then, he only spoke to his team. Who was this woman?

"She's my prostitute." House sniped.

The people all looked away uncomfortably. As far as they knew, he was telling the truth. It was no secret that House had occasionally had his 'lady friends' come to visit him in the hospital, and those women had to have day jobs too. This woman could be a doctor and a prostitute. It was unlikely, but possible.

Hermione strode into the paediatric ward and introduced herself to the head doctor, a Doctor Ellis Green. He was a kind faced and portly older man with grey eyes and dark brown hair streaked with grey. He welcomed her warmly and handed her a chart for her first patient of the day.

Hermione scanned the chart and walked down the ward to the examination room where her patient was waiting.

"Good morning, I'm Doctor Granger. I'm your new physician." She smiled. "You must be Lucas Greenbody and this must be your Mum."

Hermione gave a tired smile as she handed her fifteenth chart that morning over to the woman at the desk. It had been a very busy morning. She had handled several patients so far with varying degrees of illness. It was now early afternoon and she was exhausted and hungry.

"I'm taking my break now, if that's okay. I've got an hour and a half gap." She told the receptionist.

The woman smiled and nodded. "I'll let Doctor Green know."

Hermione gave a grateful smile. "Thank you. Um, which way is it to the canteen?"

"Go to the lift, take it to the first floor and it's down the corridor and to your right." The woman explained.

Hermione nodded and walked off to follow the instructions, repeating them silently to herself as she went.

House grabbed his food, his favourite steak, and followed Wilson to the cashier. He smiled at Wilson and Wilson rolled his eyes, paying for both plates of food.

"You've got to start buying your own food." He muttered. "I'm going to run out of money soon."

"You're an Oncologist; you earn way more than you need. You can afford it." House pointed out snidely.

The two chose their normal seats in the corner of the canteen and continued to bicker a little about the money issue. They only stopped when another tray joined theirs on the table and its owner sat down.

"Afternoon." Hermione grinned. "Hope I'm not interrupting."

"Of course not." Wilson said, cutting across House. "How has your first day been going?"

"Not too badly really. I've dealt with worse." Hermione grimaced, remembering her stint as a nurse in Saint Mungos.

"Just wait till they're drooling and puking over you." House remarked, biting into his food with gusto.

Hermione snorted. "Still had worse. Believe me."

House looked at her with a small smile. "I do. Still it didn't put you off."

"Of course not!" Hermione cried. "People, more importantly, children need my help and I'm not going to stop just because of a couple of bad cases."

House rolled his eyes and Wilson gave her an admiring look for her words. Wilson honestly couldn't remember ever meeting someone with as much passion for her job as Hermione had. He could tell she had an incredibly kind heart. He just couldn't work out how someone like her could be friends with House.

"May I just ask, how do you know House?" He couldn't contain his curiosity anymore.

"We went to the same medical college, John Hopkins. I believe I was one of his only friends, wasn't I Greg?" Hermione turned an amused smile on House.

"Something like that." House smiled, remembering college.

Wilson looked between the two with more curiosity. "Why do I get the feeling that there's more to the story than that?"

Hermione blushed a little and House's smile changed to a smirk. He looked his friend right in the eyes while Hermione's avoided his gaze.

"Hermione and I were a couple, and we stayed together for a couple of months after I got chucked out for cheating. The long distance thing wasn't working out." House announced. "Shame really, she has a killer ass."

Hermione's blush deepened and she choked on her dinner at the last comment, slapping House on the arm.

"Greg!"

"You and him?" Wilson looked at her with raised eyebrows.

Hermione shifted in her seat. "It was a long time ago. I was eighteen and he was twenty. We're different people now."

She suddenly stood, feeling awkward. "I'm going to head back up to the ward. It was nice eating lunch with you two."

She quickly walked away, unaware that both men's eyes zeroed in on her bottom through her fitted black trousers.

"You're right." Wilson stated. "She does have a nice ass."

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Please Read and Review. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and your questions about her magic have been answered :D


	5. Chapter 5 Home Life

Two updates in one day, lucky you ;) I've finished my drafts of my stories for class, and I just have to write two 1,000 word analyses of them. Fuuunnnnn. But after that, I only have to do 3 poems and another 1,000 words and I'm done, freeing me up to write more! This chapter is a glimpse into the life of Hermione outside of work.

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**Chapter Five**

**Home Life**

Hermione stretched as her last patient for the day headed out of the office she was occupying. That was one of the last things on her list of things to do. The very last thing was go around the ward and check that everyone was okay.

Hermione tiredly walked out into the main atrium of the paediatric ward. Doctor Green was standing at the desk and smiled as he spotted her.

"Granger, you've done some good work today." He told her.

Hermione gave him a small smile in return. "Thank you, sir."  
"I think, seeing as it's your first day, you can go home early. I'm sure that there's someone who's missing you and eager to find out about your first day."

Hermione blushed. "Thank you."

"Go on, get out of here. I'll see you tomorrow." Green waved her off.

Hermione nodded and headed to the locker room. She hung her coat in her locker and grabbed her bag. She swung it over her shoulder and strode out of the room, grinning at Doctor Green as she passed.

"See you tomorrow." She called over her shoulder.

As soon as she was secluded in the alley where she had apperated to, she spun on the spot and disappeared with a pop. She arrived inside a hidden part of a neatly trimmed back garden. She walked out of the bushes and up the back steps, walking into the house with painted blue wooden walls.

"Hello?" She called.

"Hey, Auntie Hermione." A tall red headed thirteen year old girl with grey eyes smiled dreamily as she walked into the room. "I'm glad you're home, the baby's crying is driving me crazy."

"I'm sure that he'll stop soon, Cassie." Hermione smiled. "You just have to be patient."

Cassie grimaced. "I was patient when the twins were babies, and when Jenny was crying her eyes out. I don't want to be patient now. Why can't Mum and Dad just stop having babies! They're so old!"

Hermione raised an eyebrow and Cassie ducked her head.

"Not that you're old, Auntie Hermione." She back pedalled.

Hermione chuckled. "I'm sure that Amelia and Petra thought the same when you were born. Besides, you only have to wait a month or two and then you're off back to Hogwarts."

"Yeah, where Petra, Ariel, Juliet and now Jenny are." Cassie grumbled.

Hermione shook her head. "Your dad survived it, and so will you."

"Hey, Mione."

Hermione smiled as Ron walked into the room cradling a large baby boy in a bright orange Chudley Cannons onesie. Cassie looked at the baby, rolled her eyes and walked back out of the room again.

"What's up with her?" Ron asked, confused.

"She's feeling a little edgy because of Robbie's crying." Hermione told him. "She'll get over it like Amelia and Petra did."

Ron sighed and began to bounce his only son gently. He had been surprised to find that he and his wife were the opposites of his parents and had only managed to have girls the first five times they tried. He finally had the baby boy he wanted just before the wizarding equivalent of middle age. He would be their last child, and he was delighted that he finally got a son. He was beginning to feel outnumbered in a house full of girls.

Luna Weasley, nee Lovegood, walked into the room. She was looked back over her shoulder at the direction in which she had just come from. She had a concerned look on her face and she seemed tired. The tiredness seemed to go away when she spotted Hermione.

"Hello, Hermione." She beamed. "How was your first day?"

"It was good. A bit tiring. I had lunch with my ex and his best friend. It was a bit awkward when he remarked how good my ass was." Hermione relayed. "Are you alright, Luna? You look a little stressed."

Luna waved her off. "I'm fine. Ariel and Juliet just are getting a bit angry because of the baby's crying and they turned their anger on me. Anyway, he really said your ass was good in front of his friend?"

Hermione blushed. "He actually said I had a killer ass."  
Ron chuckled. "He's only telling the truth."

Luna shot him a look and he smiled sweetly at her. They all knew that what he said was in jest. He didn't think of Hermione like that.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It was so awkward. His friend, Wilson, is so nice and charming. It was humiliating."

"I'm sure he didn't mean to humiliate you." Luna pointed out, fussing over Robbie as he looked over his father's shoulder.

"I know he didn't. It's just how Greg is." Hermione agreed. "I just don't like being showed up like that in front of-"

"A handsome, charming man?" Luna interjected.

"Precisely."

"Do you like this Wilson guy?" Ron asked.

"I don't know. I think I could. He seems nice." Hermione shrugged. "If I got to know him better I probably could."

"Then what's holding you back?"

Hermione sighed. "He's Greg's best friend. I think that's a little close to home don't you think?"

"Ginny's my sister, and she's still married to Harry."

"Not really the same situation." Luna pointed out. "It's more like if you had broken up with me and Harry began dating me."

Ron's face darkened. "Hmm. But it's been a while. Maybe this House guy doesn't like Hermione like that anymore. That wouldn't be so bad, right?"

"Technically it's not so bad." Luna said. "But in practise…"

"I'm not so sure I could do that to Greg. Some part of me still cares for him. I always will care for him; he was my first serious relationship. If he was in a relationship, then it'd be different." Hermione sighed heavily.

"Maybe he doesn't have to know." Ron suggested.

"Yeah, you could always keep the relationship quiet." Luna agreed. "Until you were sure about your feelings."

Hermione sighed heavily. "Maybe. I think I'm going to go home and think this over. I need some rest. It's been a long day."

"Alright. Have a good evening. We'll see you tomorrow. You remember you're babysitting the kids while we go out to a Chudley Cannons function, right?" Ron smiled.

"I remember. You can have fun being a superstar chaser, and I'll keep an eye on your own mini Quidditch team." Hermione winked.

Ron laughed and waved her off. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye." Luna gave a smile as she took Robbie from her husband.

Hermione walked out of the front door and walked the few steps to her own house. It was painted a maroon colour and had a lion's head knocker. Harry had found it and thought it perfect for her. Of course, Luna had found the house next door and decided to move the new Weasley brood in.

Hermione slipped her shoes off by the front door and hung her coat up on the coat rack to the right of the door. She walked in her socks across the cherry wood floor and up the stairs to her bedroom. The other two bedrooms in her house had already been assigned their uses. One was a guest bedroom and the other doubled as her library and office. The walls were lined with bookcases and her desk sat in the middle of the room.

She looked in at the books inside and smiled to herself, walking further into her house and to her bedroom. The walls were a soft lilac colour and the carpet was polished wood. A handsome four poster bed stood against one wall with deep purple covers and curtains of the same colour hung from the frame. Her bedside tables were both the same mahogany as the bed's frame and an alarm clock sat on one of them beside a silver picture frame which held a photo of herself, Harry and Ron looking a lot younger and full of happiness. It had been taken during the end of the war party.

She pulled out her old Gryffindor jumper and favourite sweatpants and went downstairs to curl up in front of the fire and TV in her living room. She sat on her plump red sofa and lent her head on the armrest, her oval eyes fixed on the TV.

It had been a long day and, even though she had enjoyed it, she was exhausted. She felt her eyelids droop and groaned as she dragged herself to her feet. She had fallen asleep on the sofa too many times before and hated how stiff her back got when she did so. She practically climbed up the stairs on all fours and crawled into her bed.

No sooner had her head hit the pillow she was fast asleep. That night she dreamt of sharp grey eyes secluding a wicked intelligence conflicting with dark brown eyes that glowed with kindness.

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Please Read and Review. I hope you enjoyed this chapter :D Next chapter, Hermione finds out about House and Stacy. How will she react?


	6. Chapter 6 Stacy

Okay, so I'm procrastinating. I've got 2,000 words to right, and I'd rather write 1,800 words for this story, haha. Hope you guys enjoy this nice, long chapter :D

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**Chapter Six**

**Stacy**

House sat in his office, his eyes closed as the jazz music he was listening to filled the room. He imagined playing along with it. He was broken out of it when the door to his office opened.

He half expected it to be Foreman, Cameron or Chase, but it wasn't. It was Stacy. She was dressed in a sleek black dress that highlighted her curves and her piercing eyes were fixed with him, her lips curved in a smile.

"It feels like it's been quite a while since I last saw you." She purred.

House smiled. "It does."  
Stacy walked over to the blinds and pulled the cord. The blinds immediately plunged the office into darkness. Her fingers pushed the lock until she heard the click she wanted to. She walked into the diagnosis room and locked that door too before returning to where the man she was having an affair with was sat.

She slid into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "It has really been too long since I've kissed you."

House hummed, his eyes focussed on her lips. "It has."

"Time to correct that, don't you think?" Stacy smirked.

House nodded and leant in. His lips brushed her own and Stacy pressed hers firmly against his own, deepening the kiss.

House felt a little guilty as he suddenly realised that the woman he saw behind his closed lids as he kissed was not Stacy, but Hermione. He didn't care to know what that meant.

Hermione smiled as she handed one of her younger patients a teddy bear he had dropped. The little boy was a cancer patient meaning that Wilson was attending. She straightened up and nodded at the boy's doting parents.

She hated seeing children so young with such a horrible disease. But that was why she became a children's doctor, so she could cure them and save the parents from the grief of losing their child. Sadly, with this little boy was beyond their help and all they could do was make him comfortable.

Hermione left the child's room and handed his chart over to the receptionist. She took a shuddering breath and composed herself.

"Are you alright?"

She turned to face Wilson who was looking at her concerned. "I'm fine. It just never gets easier."

Wilson nodded sincerely. "I know."

"I'll be alright." She assured him. "I said yesterday that I've dealt with worse."

Wilson noted the tears that still were gathered in the corner of her eyes. "Come on, I think you need a break."

He turned to the receptionist with his most charming smile. "Doctor Granger is having a little trouble emotionally. It'd be best if she took a moment to compose herself rather than throwing herself back into work, don't you think?"

The receptionist nodded dazedly. Wilson shot her another smile and returned to Hermione's side. He carefully steered her out of the ward and to the lift. They were silent as the lift ascended to the fourth floor.

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked.

"My office." Wilson replied. "I've got a stash of great hot chocolate. I used it when a patient needs calming down or I've had a particularly stressful day."

Hermione nodded quietly and followed him towards his office. She was surprised to learn that it was only a room away from House's office and diagnostic room. She noted that all the blinds were pulled and gave a small frown.

The door to House's office opened and the black haired woman she had met a couple of days before, Stacy, left the office. Her dress was slightly rumpled and her lipstick slightly smeared. House stood at the door and Stacy pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

Hermione felt as though a knife had been driven into her heart and her head began to spin. She did still have feelings for House after all, and seeing him kissing another woman with no warning that he was seeing anyone was a big shock to her already fragile system. She gave a small frown. Hadn't this Stacy woman said she was meeting her husband? So he was helping a married woman have an affair.

Wonderful.

As Stacy walked away, House looked up and his grey eyes met her pained, chocolate brown orbs. Hermione quickly diverted her eyes and sent Wilson a small smile as he turned to face her and gestured for her to enter to his office.

House watched as Hermione walked into Wilson's office. The image of her face when she had seen Stacy leaving from their impromptu make out and quickly following sex session was burned into his retinas. Her eyes had been full of sadness and tears clung to the corners of her eyes and lashes. Her face, though, was impassive and had changed to a small frown before she turned to look at Wilson.

He had seen that expression before. When he had admitted he had cheated on the test. She had tried to be impassive, but her eyes had given her away. They always gave her away. He hated being the cause of that expression and had vowed back when he had cheated that he would never make her do that expression again. He had broken his vow.

"Here you go." Wilson smiled, handing over a white and blue striped mug full of steaming hot chocolate.

Hermione gave him a small smile in return. "Thank you."

She took a sip, whispering a small cooling spell as she did, and let the luxurious, chocolaty liquid pool in her mouth. It was one of the best she had ever tasted, close behind Mrs Weasley's hot chocolate, the Hogwarts Elves' concoction and Fortescue's special brew. Of course the others had had magic to help them craft their hot chocolate.

"Where did you get this? It's delicious." She asked.

"An old patient gave it to me a couple of years ago. She was a bit eccentric and liked to say that a little bit of magic was inside the hot chocolate." Wilson gave a small chuckle.

Hermione choked on her next sip. "Went down the wrong way."

Wilson shook his head. "She was lovely. Passed away last year."

"I'm sorry." Hermione whispered, putting her hand on his arm.

Wilson put his hand over hers. "It's alright. She was alone. No living family or friends. She seemed happy. She was sure she was going to be reunited with them."

Hermione gave a small smile thinking of her old Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. "Death is but the next great adventure."

Wilson looked at her. "That's very insightful."

"It's just something my headmaster used to say. He was very old, and he died when I was in my sixth year." Hermione told him. "He was very wise."

"He sounds it." Wilson agreed. "What did he die of?"

Hermione gave a deep sigh. "It's a very complicated story, but he was murdered. The man who did it was later killed."

"I'm so sorry." Wilson frowned.

"Don't be. It was over twenty five years ago." Hermione waved him off. "The school still honours him on the day he died."

"That's nice." Wilson smiled.

"He was very much loved and respected by the community." Hermione chuckled. "He was an amazing man."

The two stayed in Wilson's office and talked for a bit. Hermione was having a quieter day as was Wilson so the two spent well over an hour chatting amicably about all sorts. He was fascinated to learn about life in England and she was intrigued to hear about how he met House and became an oncologist.

House limped out of his office with his team. They were heading off to do some more tests and House was going to ask Wilson if he wanted to go for lunch. He paused when the door to Wilson's office opened and Hermione left it with Wilson in tow.

"House? What is it?" Cameron asked.

The three turned and their eyebrows rose.

"Is that-" Chase began.

"Yeah." House said.

"Why is she with Wilson?" Foreman questioned.

"Don't know. I'm going to find out though." House began to walk towards the two.

"I think he's jealous." Chase chuckled. "I think he likes her."

"Whether House likes Doctor Granger or not has nothing to do with us. We have a patient waiting for us to diagnose her." Cameron snapped.

Foreman shot a look at Chase as Cameron flounced off down the corridor. "I reckon she's jealous too."

The two men shook their heads and followed after their colleague.

"Hermione, Wilson." House nodded as he reached the two.

"House." Wilson smiled. "Hermione and I were just heading down to lunch. Care to join us?"

"Love to." House smirked.

Hermione gave a tight smile and began to trail behind the two men as they walked to the lift. It wasn't House's fault she was jealous. She had no right to be jealous. Their relationship had ended twenty three years ago; she had no claim to him. If he had found someone, she ought to have been happy for him. The fact his other half was a married woman was none of her business. If Stacy made him happy then good for him.

House discretely looked back at Hermione. Her brow was furrowed a little and her eyes were flicking side to side as she thought hard. He hated putting her in a position where she had to compromise her own happiness. He decided then that he would be more aware of where Hermione was in relation to him and Stacy.

"Here." Luna handed Hermione a glass of red wine. "You look like you need it."

"Thanks." Hermione sighed. "How was the function?"

"It was nice. The manager gave a speech, they auctioned off some brooms and players jumpers for charity and then we danced." Luna shrugged. "Same thing as always. How was your day?"

Hermione took a large gulp of wine.

Luna snorted. "That good?"

Hermione shook her head. "Greg's in a secret relationship with a married woman."

Luna's eyes widened. "Oh. How do you feel about it?"

"I don't have any right to feel anything about it. I'm not with him." Hermione shrugged, drinking some more wine.

Luna frowned. "You still love him though. What do you feel?"

Hermione huffed. "Jealous. I have no right to though. I'm going to be happy for him. If he loves her then good for him."

"I guess it clears up a few things." Luna added.

"How?" Hermione tilted her head and then draining her wine glass.

"You can date Wilson now." Luna pointed out.

Hermione promptly blushed.

"Don't you want to?" Luna asked innocently.

"Maybe." Hermione admitted. "He has to ask me out first."

"He will." Luna replied serenely.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "How do you know?"

Luna chuckled. "A mother always knows."  
Hermione laughed and slapped her arm playfully. "You're not my mother!"

Luna winked. "It's a universal thing."

Hermione shook her head as her chuckles subsided. "I've got to go. I'll see you tomorrow. Night, Luna."  
"Night Hermione. Thanks for looking after the kids tonight." Luna watched as Hermione headed to the door.

"Thanks for helping me clear my head."

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Please Read and Review. I hope you liked this chapter :D I'm currently on Season 4 of House. I'm loving the whole interview thing with House and the new diagnostic team. Until next time ;)


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